But there's one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Stick With What You Like and Buy Quality Stuff

As my husband likes to say when referring to me, I stick with what I like.

A few months ago, anticipating our costly roadtrip to California I decided to go cheap when it came to buying a mop. My all-favorite kitchen clean-up tool gave up the ghost. I bought the Swiffer mop (the deluxe battery-operated model) when it first came out. I was so impressed with it. The handle broke, or more accurately, Liam was using it as a "Yee-ha" (translation - horse) and it snapped.

After a week of muddy paws, oatmeal encrusted, sticky juiced floors I decided it was time to purchase another Swiffer. Now I do have the old-fashioned fill-a-bucket mop but I like the everyday convenience of the Swiffer. I get to the store without a coupon and the price! Whew. I'm trying to save money for our roadtrip! Can I justify spending $25 on this mop, knowing the cleanser and pads that I have to buy later cost almost $4 each! Hmmm...there's the Clorox mop...a little cheaper...so is the cleanser and pads...hmmm. I'll be smart and buy that one instead. Regrets! Don't waste your money. The cleanser isn't that great of a cleanser and doesn't have the fresh scent of a Swiffer. The spray doesn't spray but dribbles out. And the pads don't last more than 5 or 7 wipes on the floor, beside that they fall off the mop quite easily. So I wasted $15 for the cheaper mop that I hate and have to use twice as many pads/cleanser to get my floor as clean as it got with the Swiffer. Now, do I simply toss the new mop, give it to the thrift store and purchase a Swiffer or endure my lack of purchasing wisdom and continue to frustratingly mop my floor with the Clorox mop.

Lesson learned: Buy what you like and stick to quality over cheapness.

The same goes for Pampers baby wipes. I got an amazing deal on Pampers diapers about 4 months ago through Amazon.com (yeah, they sell diapers.) These were cheaper than Walmart and "everyone knows" that Pampers are the best!? (I usually buy Huggies.) The deal was to buy ALOT of diapers and you'd get a really good price. I added the wipes to my order, still getting a really good deal. Now stuck with 3 huge boxes of wipes-though a great deal - the wipes are far inferior to Huggies, thin, small, no great scent (like Huggies with Shea Butter).

3 comments:

Hey Barb - I relate. As a lazy shopper, I think I'm finally learning to pay more attention to what I like so I don't have to put as much energy into buying new things.

Yesterday I went to J.C. Penney's and bought a T-shirt exactly like one I bought a few weeks ago and have found myself looking for excuses to wear every day. Just a T-shirt, but one that's comfortable, the perfect size and softness and cut and color (a jewel-toned dark magenta which the label identifies as 'bordeaux'). So now I have two. And both marked down to $6.

It irks me that things are advertised as having advantages that are actually drawbacks - at least for me. And it particularly irks me when I fall for these claims.

Last time I bought sheets for me bed I was unable to locate any that did not boast the feature of 'deep pockets,' which just means if you have a mattress of ordinary thickness, they won't really fit properly.

Deb fell for into an interesting one recently. She bought us a dozen rolls of soft, thick toilet paper which turns out to be so luxuriant it will not fit the holders in our bathroom. Too big. So it sits on the counter until it's about 25% gone.

Well-made shoes that fit well. Girls,trust me on this one. Ill or tight fitting shoes, especially high heels, will only cause horrendous problems (painful bunions) in later life. I wished I shelled out the big bucks for Naturalizer shoes when I was starting off in my career. Then again, they weren't as cute or fashionable as they are now.

Some other things I don't mind spending a little bit more on now are:1. The softer Kleenex (w/ lotion)2. Tide3. Barbara's cereals (no MSG!)4. Fresh flowers for our home5. My Toyota Solara (After almost 7 years, no problems-- EVER!)6. Nice stationery7. Nioxin. If you have long hair and can't go the no shampoo-route for 6-8 weeks, this stuff is the ticket. I have been using it for almost a year, have less hair loss, my hair is fuller and thicker, and I have at least two inches of baby hair growth, albeit in the strangest place, like at the crown by my part.And finally,8. My Mac :)

Barbie, your blog gets more and more interesting and relevant every day.

Thanks to Valerie for the shopping tips. I'm definitely with you on the shoes, and a reliable car (though mine's a Honda Accord). We love our Kleenex Puffs! Haven't heard of Nioxin; will check it out. And as Julie said in the post above - wow, Barbie went four MONTHS without washing her hair? Remarkable.